A Young Warlock (ADOPTED)
by alphawolf96
Summary: Set in an AU in which Merlin is only 10 and Arthur is 19. In this version all the knights of the round table are knights and Uther is different, to say the least. I plan for this to be a series of stories that involve some fluff and brotherhood. no slash. Ideal description would be comfort/brotherhood/family/angst-Adopted from teawithlucifer
1. Chapter 1

**Merlin AU where Merlin is sent to be Gaius' apprentice at a younger age—10 years old to be exact. This begins with Arthur meeting Merlin. In this universe, however, Lancelot, Gwaine and all the Knights of the Round Table are, in fact, knights.**

**~oo0O0oo~**

Merlin walked was walking across the training grounds when he saw them; all of the knights, including Prince Arthur, were doing drills when Arthur's new manservant stumbled on to the field, dropping the armor he had been carrying. Stopping their drills, Arthur walked towards his servant with the knights close upon his heels. Smiling maliciously he clapped his servant on the back.

" Gentlemen, I believe we'll be moving on from drills to moving target practice. You," he pointed imperiously to his manservant, "grab a shield."

" Yes, s-sire," the obviously nervous man stuttered. He picked up a shield and began to jog back and forth across the field, as if this wasn't a new practice for him.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Merlin watched in astonishment as the knights began throwing their knives at the servant on the field, jeering as the servant flinched with each hit. Merlin watched as one knife sailed perilously close to the poor servants head and before he knew it he was striding across the field towards the knights. He reached the group just as the servant fell to his knees, allowing the shield to roll away from him towards Merlin, who stopped it with his foot.

"Boy," Arthur called, " move aside and let my servant take up his shield again."

Merlin knew he was being foolish, honestly what did one scrawny ten year-old expect to do against the Knights of Camelot? He was supposed to be keeping his head down, avoiding anything that would draw attention to him and risk the discovery of his magic, but then, Merlin never did as he was told, only what he knew to be right. Consequently, when the servant began to reach for the shield again he placed his foot more firmly upon it and gave the manservant a small smile before turning to look at the prince.

"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, you prat?"

Arthur's eyes widened and he took a menacing step towards Merlin, who in turn thrust his chin up defiantly. "Do you know who I am? You have no right to tell me how to deal with my worthless servant! I am a knight of Camelot and the Crown Prince and I will not be talked to in such a manner by a child!" At the word child Arthur gave a disdainful snort and the knights all snickered.

Merlin fixed his coldest stare on Arthur. " Honestly? I don't care what you think; all you are is a bully." Merlin swept his gaze over all of the knights who were staring at him with astonishment. " I always heard stories about the brave knights of Camelot, but if this is what _chivalry_," he spat the word out as if it were poison," is then I guess those stories must have been fairytales." And with that the young boy turned and hurried away, back towards Guias' chambers.

The knights just stood there for a moment, astonished at the boy's audacity (and a bit ashamed if they were being honest) before resuming their normal drills. Unbeknownst to those present Uther Pendragon turned away from his window, smiling slightly to himself.

**~oo0O0oo~**

**As you guys might of guessed this story has also been adopted so enjoy!**

**-Wolfy**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is a scene from later in the day after the confrontation on the training field.**

" I saw the incident on the training field this afternoon. Your actions were out of line and ill befitting a Knight of Camelot, much less a Prince."

Arthur stared at Uther as if he had just grown another head. "What?!" Arthur stood in front of the King, spluttering indignantly.

" You heard me, Arthur. You and your knights swore to follow the knight's code and act with chivalry. Your actions reflect not only upon yourself but on all of Camelot and if you and your knights cannot handle that responsibility…" He left the rest unsaid, a threat that seemed to hang in the air between the king and his son.

Bowing slightly, Arthur nodded curtly. "I understand, Sire. It will not happen again, you have my word."

" See that it doesn't. "

With that Arthur turned on his heel and marched out of the throne room. Just as he reached the doors his father's voice stopped him again.

"Oh, and Arthur? As a punishment for you actions your servant is relieved of his duties and you shall go without until I can find a more suitable replacement. Now go and I shall see you again tonight at Lady Helena's performance."

When Arthur had left the throne room, Uther sighed. Arthur needed to learn that he had a responsibility for everybody in Camelot, including those who served him. What he needed was somebody who would serve him but who would not blindly take orders from him because he was the prince. He sighed again, rubbing his temples to alleviate the headache growing there. He stood, deciding to pay Guias a visit.

Merlin was grinding the herbs as Guias had shown him when there was a knock on the door. Merlin jumped out of his seat before Guias could move, eager to see who was at the door (as children often are he was bored and wanted to meet somebody new instead of being cooped up in Guais' chambers.) To say he was shocked would be an understatement when he opened the door to see the king himself standing there. He must have stood there staring for a while because all of the sudden he felt a gentle cuff on the back of his head and he turned to look at Guias.

"Where are your manners, Merlin? Let his Majesty in and stop gaping like a fish!" This last part was accompanied with a slight smile to take away the sting of the words.

Merlin felt his ears go red and he quickly stood aside to let the king in, missing the amused look on the king's face as he stepped in. He closed the door after Uther and returned to grinding the herbs, trying to look nonchalant as he listened for what the king had to say.

By this point Guias was on his feet facing Uther. " How may I be of service, sire?"

"Always so formal Guias. I actually came to ask your opinion on a delicate matter and perhaps find a remedy for my headache before this evening's festivities."

"Of course sire," Guias gestured to the small table in the middle of the room. "Now what is this delicate matter you were speaking of ?"

"Well, it actually has to do with Arthur…" the king stopped speaking as a strange sound came from the work bench. He turned to see Guias' young ward staring at him with wide eyes, his hands clasped over his mouth. "You, what was your name again?"

Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He tried again, ignoring the "eyebrow of doom" that Guias was giving him. " It's Merlin, sire."

"Well Merlin, do you have something you wish to say regarding my son?"

"N-n-no sire."

Uther just continued to give Merlin a look. Had Merlin been a little less frightened of the King and perhaps a little older he would have noticed the strange gleam in the king's eye. As it was he simply blurted out, " well, sire, the prince is a prat and a bully." A horrified gasp escaped from his lips as the young boy realized what he had just said about the king's son, and he clapped his hands over his mouth again peering at the king fearfully. Images of himself being burnt at the stake flashed through his mind. He began to edge towards the door, and when neither man moved to stop him, he ran from the room.

Guias just shook his head slowly and turned his attention back to the king, who, to his surprise, was chuckling. "I'm sure the boy meant no disrespect, sire…"

"Think nothing of it, Guias. Boys will be boys; now how old is Merlin?"

"He's only ten sire, his mother sent him to me to become my ward."

" I see. As to the matter at hand, Arthur needs to learn his duty to those who serve him. I came here to ask if you had any suggestions on a servant who would still serve him well but not be intimidated by the fact that Arthur is royalty; it seems that I have found one such person already."

"You have sire?"

"Yes I have. Did your ward happen to tell you about what happened on the training grounds this morning?" As Guias shook his head in the negative, Uther continued. " This morning Arthur and his knights were mistreating his manservant. Not only did your ward stop to help him, but he also stood up to knights twice his age to do so."

Guias chuckled. " Merlin always has had trouble knowing when he should keep quiet. More often than not he speaks out for what he believes to be right even if that isn't the wisest course of action."

"And yet, for a boy so young, he seems to have a lot of sense about him. Guias, I wonder, would you object to Merlin becoming Prince Arthur's manservant?"

Guias nodded slowly. " I believe that would be beneficial for both of them, sire. I shall ask Merlin about it first though, if that is acceptable?"

"Of course, I would expect nothing less. Now about that headache…"

Merlin stood at Guias' side, listening to the King make his speech. He was excited to hear the Lady Helena sing, but until then he let his mind wander. His eyes fell on Arthur and the dragon's words about destiny rang through his skull along with the news that Guias had given him after the king had left. He could feel the weight of the decisions pressing on him and he didn't quite know what to do about them. On one hand there was his destiny (Merlin wasn't sure that he was special enough to have a destiny, but the dragon seemed honest) and on the other hand there was Arthur, who was a royal ass (he glanced at Guias to make sure he hadn't somehow heard the cuss word). He was so deep in thought he hadn't even noticed Lady Helena begin singing until cobwebs started to appear on everybody present, who all seemed to have fallen asleep. Covering his ears, he turned to see Mary Collins, the lady who had threatened the king the first day Merlin had been there, pointing a dagger at Arthur. In that split second Merlin made his decision and his eyes flashed gold, causing the chandelier to fall on the witch. No one messed with his destiny. As everybody began to awaken there were shouts of "Sorcery" and other such exclamations filled the great hall. Merlin spared one last glance at the woman under the chandelier; just in time to see her eyes flash gold and the dagger she was holding go whirling through the air.

He didn't stop to think, didn't even consciously order his magic to slow time. All he could think about was getting Arthur out of the path of the knife. Putting all his strength he could into it, he jumped at Arthur causing his thin form to collide with the prince's much larger form. Not expecting the impact, Arthur had no time to brace himself and thankfully that was enough to allow Merlin's thin form to knock him to the ground. Just as the knife thudded into the chair where Arthur had just been. He scrambled backwards as the prince struggled to right himself, staring at Merlin with a mixture of emotions on his face.

The king strode forward and clasped the young boy on his shoulder. Uther found himself faced with the boy's wide-eyed stare, as if he didn't know what was going to happen. Uther couldn't tell for sure but he was certain the boy was frightened, as if he were going to be punished.

"I'm s-sorry s-s-sire." The boy stammered looking as if he were ready to bolt.

"Sorry? Whatever for? You saved my son's life and for that I am grateful." Uther smiled to himself. This was the perfect opportunity to set his plan into action. " You shall be rewarded, I believe." Was that surprise or relief he saw flash in the boy's eyes? " In reward for saving my son I hereby make you manservant to Prince Arthur!" Uther was so pleased with himself he completely missed to looks on both Merlin's and the Prince's faces.


	3. Chapter 3

**Though these stories don't touch upon it, the events in the actual Merlin storyline are still happening.**

Arthur stared at the boy from across the camp while Merlin, oblivious to his scrutiny, was lighting the fire, or at least he was trying to light it but the wood was still damp. It had been raining for about a week straight and it had finally let up this morning. That being the case Arthur had immediately ordered Merlin to prepare the horses and inform the knights that they were going on a hunt. Arthur chuckled as Merlin lost his balance and went tumbling into the pile of firewood, scattering it. He hurriedly reset the wood and then he lowered his head and struck his flint again, this time managing to make the tinder catch fire. Arthur just watched as he glanced around quickly, as if making sure nobody was watching him and then set to work preparing their meal. Arthur turned and began to walk towards the horses, allowing a small smile to cross his face as he spotted the shadowy forms of Gwaine and Percival sneaking up on the boy.

It was odd, he thought, how fond all the knights (including Arthur, though he would never admit it) had grown of the young servant. The more Arthur thought about it though, the more sense it made; despite the fact that he was a lousy servant and clumsy beyond all imagining, there was something instantly likeable about the boy. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't seem to care about social status; Merlin talked to everybody the same way, offering surprisingly wise insights for a boy his age and sarcastic comments to anybody he spoke with, including the prince. He smiled as he heard Merlin's surprised cry at whatever prank Gwaine had pulled on him. Arthur was heading back towards the main camp when he heard a loud crack followed by a surprised yelp from Gwaine and laughter from the rest of the knights. He entered the little clearing where they had made camp to see a disgruntled Merlin thoroughly covered in mud and brandishing the wooden ladle he used to spoon the stew and Sir Gwaine rubbing the back of his head and pouting while the rest of the knights roared with laughter. Arthur strode up to Merlin and crossed his arms.

"Well? Would you like to explain what's going on?"

Still looking disgruntled Merlin shrugged and mumbled something to the ground.

"What was that Merlin? Speak up! What's going on here?"

"Nothing," the boy said sulkily. "Gwaine dumped mud all over my back, so I hit him with the ladle."

Trying to lighten Merlin's mood Arthur asked in a mock serious tone: "And are you aware that attacking a knight of Camelot is a serious offense? I could have you thrown in the stocks for this."

" I don't care! I'd rather be in the stocks for a week than have to be hear. I'm tired, sore, and now my cleanest shirt is covered in mud!" Merlin bit his lip and glared at the ground, seemingly embarrassed by his outburst.

"Ah, I see. Is there something else the matter?" Arthur asked this because Merlin seemed uncharacteristically upset over this prank, considering that this was far from the worst prank Gwaine had pulled on him since becoming Arthur's manservant. Truth be told Arthur was concerned about the boy whom he considered to be like a little brother and he was feeling increasingly protective of the boy, aware that his knights viewed Merlin in much the same way.

In response to Arthur's question Merlin just shrugged his shoulder and continued to glare at the ground before turning back to the fire and announcing that dinner was ready. Once everybody was seated and eating, Merlin made himself a bowl and then went and sat next to a tree on the outskirts of the clearing well away from the fire and other knights. Arthur had noticed this and was just beginning to rise and join the young boy when Lancelot walked over and sat next to him. Content to let Lancelot deal with Merlin, Arthur settled back down, still keeping an eye on the two forms sitting in the shadows.

"Merlin, this stew is wonderful. Where did you learn to cook like this?" Lancelot looked at the boy for a few moments. When no response was forthcoming he decided to jump straight into the matter. "What's the matter? And don't you dare say nothing, because I know that's not the truth…so really…what's bothering you. Is it something Arthur or the knights did?"

Merlin just sighed before mumbling: "It's nothing, really, I just…I don't like hunting. I lost my temper back there and I shouldn't have." Merlin couldn't help the small wince that crossed his face when Lancelot clapped him on the thigh, and he looked over at the man, hoping that he hadn't seen. He wasn't that lucky and by the look on Lancelot's face he could tell that there were going to be questions he didn't want to answer. He returned to staring at the ground.

Lancelot, for his part, had noticed the boy's wince and he thought back through the day, trying to remember anything that could have injured Merlin. He could think of nothing and just as he was about to give up he saw the mud on Merlin's shirt. That sparked a memory and Lancelot thought back to Merlin's outburst earlier in the evening. _"…I'm tired, sore, and now my cleanest shirt is covered in mud!"_ In an instant he realized what the boy's problem was and almost laughed with relief for the fact that it wasn't more serious.

"Merlin, have you ever been on a hunt before?" At the negative shake of Merlin's head, he continued. "Have you ever ridden a horse before?" Again Merlin shook his head, looking so piteous that Lancelot couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. Merlin shot him an angry and slightly hurt look. Still chuckling, Lancelot put his arm around the youth's shoulder. " I imagine you're pretty sore right now. I remember the first time I rode; I was so sore by the end of the trip that I fell right off my horse and couldn't get up without help!" Seeing the reluctant smile that spread across the boy's lips he continued, standing up and pulling the younger boy with him as he did so. " I know for a fact that sitting alone in the cold doesn't help one bit, either. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, to tell you the truth I'm amazed you got all of camp set up as fast as you did."

Before they reached the circle around the fire, Lancelot knelt down in front of the boy, looking him straight in the eye. "Merlin, you don't have to keep things like this to your self. You can always tell any of us and we'll help you out. You don't have to handle everything on your own, you understand?" Once he had received a small nod from Merlin, Lancelot stood and moved to take a seat next to the king, leaving a space for Merlin to sit next to him, which he did, albeit stiffly. After giving the king a reassuring look in response to his questioning gaze, Lancelot turned back to Merlin and gave him a grin and a small, secretive wink. Then speaking loudly enough for all to hear he asked: " So, Percy, have you ever told Merlin about the first time you rode a horse?"

Everybody chuckled as a blush rose in the quiet man's face. Thus the rest of the evening was spent around the fire, the knights all sharing their embarrassing stories, each eager to make the grin reappear on their "little brother's" face.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is sort of a continuation of Chapter 3. Obviously something has to happen while they're on a hunting trip or else it just wouldn't be Merlin. Thanks to everybody who is following and reviewing. I hope I don't disappoint too much, and if you have any suggestions please review! Also I feel like I should warn you, there is a teensy-weensy bit of Merlin whump in this chapter.**

Merlin shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. They had broken camp earlier this morning without much fuss; if Merlin had been paying attention to anything other than his aching limbs he might have noticed the sympathetic glances he received from the knights as they helped pack up, each of them taking one of Merlin's responsibilities to lighten his load. It was not, however, the stiffness that was causing Merlin to fidget. He had a bad feeling about this place, he just couldn't tell what, and that was making him jumpy. He shifted again and peered closely into the shadows. They were riding through the Valley of the Ancient Kings and to Merlin's young mind every shadow was a ghost or bandit ready to attack their party.

Arthur sighed with irritation as Merlin jumped once more, glancing nervously around the valley. "Merlin!" Arthur gritted his teeth as the servant jumped. " Why are you jumping out of your skin every time a tree rustles?"

Looking slightly abashed Merlin said, "I don't like it here, Arthur. I've got a very bad feeling about this place."

Trying to ease the younger man's fears, Arthur reigned in his horse. "There is nothing here to be afraid of, Merlin. Now stop being such a little girl! We are completely safe …" WHACK!

Just as the prince said those words a crossbow bolt thudded into a tree where Arthur's head would have been had he not reigned in. Bandits began pouring out of the surrounding trees, and in an instant the knights were dismounted with swords out. Though they were outnumbered, the knights easily outmatched the bandits, who seemed to have trouble holding on to their swords and kept tripping on roots. Sparing a glance behind him, Arthur saw Merlin determinedly gripping a dagger as he dodged the sloppy blows of a large bandit. By this point nearly all the bandits had fallen or fled, having had no chance against the highly trained knights. Dispatching his last opponent quickly, Arthur turned to come to Merlin's aid just in time to see the large bandit overbalance himself and fall forward onto the boy in front of him. Time seemed to slow and Arthur saw in clear detail the terrified look in the boy's bright blue eyes as he flung his dagger out in front of himself just a moment before he disappeared under the bulk of the larger man with a frightened squeak.

Without even remembering moving, Arthur found himself lugging the form of the large man off Merlin, his sword still at the ready. Surprisingly the man made no movement and, looking down, Arthur saw the dagger Merlin had been holding buried up to the hilt in the man's chest. Discounting the man as a threat, Arthur turned to Merlin. The poor boy was standing up from where he had been sprawled on the ground looking pale and shaken. Arthur knelt in front of him, looking earnestly up at him. "Are you hurt, Merlin?" He patted the boy's torso, trying to discern any wounds, when he found none he sat back with a small sight of relief.

It was at this moment that several things happened. First of all Arthur felt a movement behind his back; at the same time he saw Merlin's eyes go wide as he suddenly pushed Arthur, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the side. The push made Merlin step forward; just in time for him to catch the pommel of the large bandit's sword in his face. Merlin let out a small cry and fell limply to the ground. The bandit, who had apparently not yet gotten the memo that he was mortally wounded and had spent the last of his energy on the failed assassination attempt, fell forward, once again landing on Merlin. By this point all the knights were at Arthur's side, having seen what had happened. While Leon helped Arthur to his feet, Gwaine rolled the bandit's body off of Merlin, again, giving it a vicious kick before ensuring that he was well and truly dead this time. Then he turned back to Merlin. The boy was unnaturally still and pale and Gwaine let out a sigh of relief when he realized that he was uninjured apart from the large bruise now present on his temple.

"Merlin, come on buddy, time to wake up," Gwaine called, shaking Merlin gently.

"Ugh…don' wann' g't'p."

Shaking him a little more forcefully, concern evident on his face, Gwaine said, "Merlin, you've got to wake up now; princess is going to start throwing a tantrum if his servant isn't there to hold his hand." Merlin's eyelids fluttered and then opened to reveal his bright, blue eyes; Gwaine smiled, relieved.

"Gently now, Gwaine," Leon warned, " he may have a concussion and he has to take it slowly."

Nodding his understanding, Gwaine put his arm under the boy's shoulders and began to help him rise. Once he was in a sitting position, Merlin took one glance at the dead man (the man he had killed) and tried to rise to his feet, only to be pushed gently back down by Sir Gwaine.

"Easy mate, you have to take it slowly. That was a nasty knock you took to the head and you probably have a concussion."

Merlin shook his head, regretting the action instantly as it caused the world to spin momentarily and his head to throb mercilessly. Managing to keep the pain off his face he looked to Gwaine and said in a small voice: "please don't make me sit here by…by him…please, Gwaine. I'm fine, honestly, just a little bit of a headache."

Gwaine just stared at him for a moment before nodding and readjusting his grip on Merlin's shoulder; slowly helping the youth to his feet. After assuring the rest of the party that he was ok, Merlin strode towards where his horse stood chomping on a patch of grass. Arthur followed Merlin closely, not quite convinced that he was as well as he claimed to be; he was still paler than usual and wobbly on his feet. Sure enough Merlin got halfway to the horses before falling to his knees and losing the contents of his stomach. Arthur was at his side in an instant, rubbing small, soothing circles on the young boy's back as he lost his breakfast. When his stomach was emptied, Merlin slumped forward, unconscious once again.

Arthur caught the boy before he landed in his mess and stood up, cradling the small form against his chest. He frowned to himself, Merlin was ridiculously light, even for someone his age, and Arthur resolved to have words with Gaius about Merlin's eating habits. Glancing around he saw that Leon and Elyan had rounded up all the horses and were already mounted, ready to leave this place. Arthur handed Merlin's still from to Percival and then walked over to horse. Seeing that Gwaine had already taken the reigns of the servant's horse and attached them to his saddle, Arthur mounted and then bent over to receive the boy from Percival, settling him gently in front of him on the saddle. It was in this way that they returned to Camelot; Prince Arthur clutching his unconscious manservant to his chest with the rest of the knights following behind.

It was later that evening that Arthur found himself staring at his manservant, slightly worried (though he'd never admit it…good servants were just so hard to come by). Merlin was clearing the table of dishes; he'd gone back to work that afternoon after downing a headache potion and assuring Gaius that he would take it easy. He had been strangely quiet the rest of the day, a slight frown on his lips that would immediately be replaced by his normally chipper smile any time he noticed somebody watching him. Arthur sighed; he actually missed the boy's endless prattling and sarcasm.

"Merlin, sit down for a moment," he said, pulling out a chair at the table and seating himself in one across from it. Hesitantly Merlin sat down, not quite sure what was happening. "As much as I hate to admit it, I find your silence even more annoying than your endless prattling"

Merlin gave a small smile and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "clotpole".

Receiving no other response, Arthur continued. "What's bothering you? Has it anything to do with this morning?" He could see that he'd hit the proverbial nail on the head by the manservant's sudden change in demeanor.

"It's nothing, Arthur, really," Merlin muttered refusing to make eye contact.

" Merlin, nothing that happened this morning was your fault; in fact the knights and I are extremely impressed with the way you handled yourself."

Still keeping his eyes firmly on the table, Merlin said in a voice so quiet Arthur had to strain to hear him, "I killed that man, Arthur. He was just a normal man and I killed him; I'm a monster." He quickly glanced up and Arthur could see the tears in his eyes before he returned to staring at the table.

He was floored. This was clumsy, innocent Merlin who was friends with just about everybody; the kindest, most generous person Arthur had ever met and he thought that he was a monster. Just because he had acted in self-defense against a man three times his size who was trying to kill him. He couldn't believe it. "Look at me, Merlin. What you did today does not make you a monster; in fact today you are a hero. You defended yourself against a bandit and you saved my life. On top of that you are one of the purest, kindest souls I have ever met. There is no way that you could ever even come close to being a monster. Do you understand me?"

Tears were sliding down Merlin's cheeks as Arthur spoke and when he finished Merlin began to sob, all the horrors of the day finally catching up with him. Moving to his side, Arthur pulled the child (for that was what he still was, Arthur realized, despite his maturity) into an embrace and held him as he sobbed. After what seemed like ages and Arthur's tunic was thoroughly soaked, the sobbing ceased.

"Did you r-really mean what you said? _*Sniff*_ You don't think I'm a _*sniff*_ m-m-monster _*sniff*_?" Merlin looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

" Of course not, you idiot." He smiled fondly at the boy. "Besides I think a requirement for being a monster is that you have to be a semi-decent servant, and we all know you aren't that."

"Prat," Merlin said with a grin as he rubbed his puffy eyes. Then he picked up the stack of dishes from table and headed for the door. Before he left, Merlin turned back to Arthur. "Thank you," he said and then he scurried out the door before anything else could be said. Arthur smiled to himself and quietly said, "You're welcome."


	5. Chapter 5

**I seriously never expected anybody to follow my story, much less add it to favorites, so thank you! This chapter is going to be a little lighter than the others; just a little fluff. I have this taking place sometime after the incident with the questing beast. Hope you enjoy it!**

Merlin was sitting in the armory, polishing the prat's armor, again. He honestly couldn't figure out why he was doing this; Arthur hadn't been out of his bed, much less in his armor, for the past two weeks as he was still recovering from the Questing Beast's bite. The door burst open with a bang suddenly, startling Merlin and causing him to drop Arthurs armor (of course it had to scatter _**all **_across the room). The knights all burst into the room, led by Gwaine, talking loudly and joking good-naturedly. At the clattering of the armor they all turned to stare at Merlin.

" Hello, Merlin. Does the princess really have you polishing armor again?" While Merlin nodded he began the arduous task of picking up all the armor; Gwaine bent down and began to help.

"And how is the Prince, Merlin?" This was Leon speaking, his lingering concern for his liege evident in his eyes.

Merlin flashed him a rueful grin, his hand flashing up to rub a sore spot on the back of his head. " Well his aim is certainly better than it was last week." Then, in a more serious tone he confided, " He truly is much better, Leon. Honestly, if Gaius doesn't allow him out of his chambers for more than an hour sometime soon…" He broke off and shuddered, as did the rest of the knights, each one imagining an already ill-tempered Arthur confined to his room for any longer.

Elyan spoke up, giving Merlin a sympathetic glance. "Ooh, I can't imagine having to deal with that, and I'm a full grown man and a knight to boot. I don't know how a boy who's only ten can deal with it."

"I'd imagine that's why Merlin is down here, polishing armor again, instead of up in Arthur's chambers dodging goblets." Lancelot, ever astute, had seen Merlin rubbing his head and guessed at his choice of chores. It was well known to the knights that Merlin had had the same list of chores for the past two weeks, and any chores that weren't required daily had been done on the first day. They also knew that for the most part he had spent the last two weeks in Arthur's chambers helping out and keeping him company despite his temper; so it had to be really bad for Merlin to be willingly polishing armor.

Merlin flashed Lancelot a smile and then rounded on Elyan, crossing his arms and giving him an indignant look. "Oi! I'm not ten anymore." In the proud, haughty tone that only a child can achieve he said," I'm eleven now."

"When did that happen?" Asked a slightly astonished Elyan.

"Well, normally for every year you're alive you get to add one year to your age. It normally happens for me on my birthday…not sure about anyone else thought."

Percival let out a snicker at the look on Elyan's face as Gwaine fixed Merlin with a scowl. "More importantly, why didn't you tell us it was your birthday?"

Looking at the hurt faces the knights had, Merlin hung his head, feeling slightly abashed that he hadn't considered it important enough for them to care. "I didn't think you guys would care, besides, it's not that big of a deal." He said this so quietly that Gwaine almost didn't hear him. Almost.

Not sure he had heard the boy correctly (because surely he didn't think that none of them cared?) Gwaine looked at the other knights. Each one wore a slightly stunned expression and Lancelot looked like he wanted to either hug the boy or throttle him (for Gwaine's part he was leaning towards throttle). To every one's surprise it was Leon who broke the silence first, speaking in a deceptively mild voice.

"When is your birthday, Merlin?"

" It's none of your business, _Sir Leon_."

"Don't make us force it out of you, Merlin. We are knights of Camelot trained all manners of unpleasant ways to make little boys talk." Lancelot shot a small smile at Leon, amused by this seldom seen side of the taciturn man.

"No. I don't want to."

"Merlin, tell us when your birthday is." This time it was Percy who spoke in a low voice.

Thrusting his chin out defiantly, the serving boy shook his head. "I don't have to tell you anything. You can't make me tell you!"

At this the knights grinned dangerously and shared a look. By the time Merlin realized his mistake it was too late to run; the knights were already closing in on him. Just as he made to dive between Gwaine's legs, Merlin was grabbed from behind by Lancelot. Eyes twinkling with undisguised glee, the others closed in on him Leon in the front of the group.

"Are you sure you don't want to give in," Leon asked Merlin as he made a big show of slowly pulling off his gloves.

Stubborn 'til the end, Merlin just shook his head. Leon had to admire the boy's courage, considering what was to come. Tucking his gloves into his belt, Leon flashed the boy an evil grin. "Good." With that he flexed his fingers and then began…to tickle the boy. After only a few moments of this "torture" Merlin had tears sliding down his cheeks and he was breathless with laughter, his chest heaving. His eyes were bright with joy and something else that Leon couldn't quite decipher.

"Are you going to tell us when your birthday is?"

"NOOoooooo! *giggle* Please st-*giggle*-stop Leon," he gasped, squirming to no avail. A few more seconds passed before Merlin broke. "Fine, I'll t-t-tell you *giggle* Just stop please." Leon stopped and Merlin eyed the hands that were still hovering dangerously close to his navel. " It was last Tuesday. Okay? That was when my birthday was."

Nodding to himself Leon stepped back and opened his mouth to say something. Before he could continue, however, he was interrupted by none other than Prince Arthur crashing through doors.

"MERLIN," he began only to stop as he took in the scene in front of him. Arthur felt his temper begin to rise again. All the knights were staring at him with the look of children who had been caught stealing cookies. He was going to ask for an explanation before his eyes landed on Merlin, who was still being held by Lancelot and who had tears streaming down his face. Concern, shock, and anger fought for precedence on his face before Arthur schooled it into a blank mask, but not before the knights had seen. Leon seemed to blanche as he realized how this must look to the king. He stepped forward, hands raised in a placating manner.

"Sire…I…It isn't…" He found he couldn't articulate his thoughts as the panic the prince had inspired gave way to anger. How could he honestly believe that any of them would hurt Merlin?

Before anybody else could, Arthur spoke, his tone deceptively composed and calm. "Merlin, leave us." When Merlin hesitated, opening his mouth to speak because he didn't want his friends to get in trouble on his account, Arthur glared at him. "Now, Merlin." With a quick glance at the apprehensive knights, Merlin scampered out of the armory, the door slamming behind him. Once again focusing on the knights, Arthur began to shout. "WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? AT THIS TIME OF THE DAY I EXPECT MY KNIGHTS TO BE ON THE TRAINING FIELD…"

"Sire…"

"NOT NOW ELYAN, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT. I CAME DOWN HERE EXPECTING TO FIND MERLIN SLACKING ON HIS DUTIES, NOT BEING ATTACKED BY MY OWN KNIGHTS!"

"Princess, let us…"

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT, GWAINE. I SWEAR I'LL HAVE YOU RUNNING LAPS IN FULL ARMOR TOMORROW FOR THIS…" It went on like this for several more moments, with Arthur detailing the many unpleasant punishments they were going to receive for this, before Leon had finally had enough.

"Arthur, SHUT UP!" Taking advantage of the dumbstruck look on the prince's face, Leon hurriedly began to explain the situation. "We were trying to get information out of him. All we were doing was tickling him. How could you think we would ever hurt him, Arthur? He's like a little brother to us."

At his words Arthur had the decency to look ashamed; then he did something that would have given Merlin a heart attack had he been there to hear it. He apologized. "I'm *ahem* sorry," he said looking at each of them. " You're right of course, Leon. I know that none of you would hurt him; I was just frustrated at being cooped up for so long." The knights were all giving him curious looks, Gwaine was full on gaping at him, and it was slightly unnerving. "Erhm… so what information were you trying to get out of Merlin?"

Gwaine gave him a dark look. "Well, princess, were you aware that Merlin had his birthday last Tuesday? 'Cause we sure as hell weren't."

At the confused look on Arthur's face Leon explained. "Merlin let slip that he was eleven now, not ten. He wouldn't tell us when his birthday was, only that it was none of our business."

Looking hurt, Percy added, "when we asked him why he didn't tell us, he said that it wasn't that big of a deal and that he didn't think that we would care anyway."

Suddenly Arthur snorted, and then broke into a chuckle. At the others' questioning looks he just shrugged. "That's just so completely Merlin. Only he could make such a huge deal about everybody else's birthdays and be enough of an idiot to think that only his didn't matter. You know what though? We can change that." Looking each knight in the eye he said, "We'll throw Merlin a surprise party; just us, Gwen and Gaius. Now let's get planning."


	6. Chapter 6

**Well this is obviously the sequel to the previous chapter. Thank you again to everybody who has followed this story; it's good to know that my writing isn't completely horrible (I hope?) . This chapter has a few moments of angst and extremely mild swearing. WARNING this chapter turned out kind of dark.**

**It's also kind of long so…**

Merlin was worried. Not that he wasn't usually worried when it came to the prince, (I mean nobody attracts that much magical trouble) but lately he was even more worried than usual; Arthur was being nice. It all started after the incident in the armory. He had expected the knights to explain what had happened and why, which Merlin knew would lead to several uncomfortable questions from Arthur. Merlin was therefore shocked when Arthur made no further mention of the incident, instead giving Merlin the rest of the day off. The following day was just as bad, with Arthur refraining from chucking things at Merlin, though his hand twitched several times, and several times the manservant looked up only to find the prince staring at him thoughtfully or jotting something on a piece of parchment with a small grin.

Then there were the knights. Every time he approached they would stop talking and stare at him, their expressions unreadable. When he tried to talk with them they would exchange vague, impersonal pleasantries and then make up some excuse (usually some **extremely** important errand or message that had to be done instantly) and take their leave of him. To top everything off Gwen was actively avoiding him and Gaius offered him little comfort, merely stating that they were all busy people and they probably had more important things to worry about, such as a mysterious illness spreading through the lower town.

What had Merlin done to deserve this, he wondered? He had had a horrible past few weeks. First Arthur had been bitten by the Questing Beast; Merlin had saved him (again) and inadvertently sacrificed his mother's life. To remedy this disaster, and prevent Merlin from giving his life, Gaius had gone to the isle of the blessed and nearly died; Merlin had battled Nimueh and saved Gaius, and what did he get in return? A painful burn that took up most of his chest; a dragon, once considered a friend, as an enemy; one extremely bored and disgruntled Prince; and now all of his friends were avoiding him and Gaius was ignoring his situation. In short Merlin felt abandoned and he began to sink into a depressed silence. He went about his days in silence, efficiently completing his chores and then disappearing into some dark niche to avoid running into any of his former friends.

Thus it was that a week after the incident in the armory Merlin found himself hesitating outside Arthur's chambers, trying to ignore the burn in his chest that had resumed its throbbing. The reason for his hesitation was the sound of several voices emanating from the Prince's room. It seemed Arthur was in council with his most trusted knights. As the young boy stood outside the door, unwilling to face all those people he had once counted as friends, he heard snatches of their conversation.

"…take a boy by surprise…difficult…can't let him know…gifts…fight him…suspicious… get him while he's sleeping…Gaius… tomorrow… executed…burning…"

Merlin felt hollow except for the dread pooling in his stomach. Did they know about his magic? From the sound of it they did and they were planning on acting on it soon, tomorrow in fact. No wonder they had been distant; it wouldn't due for the Prince and knights of Camelot to be seen hanging around a sorcerer. Merlin steeled himself, clamping down on his fear before he could begin imagining what Gaius had to do with this or the pyre they would no doubt be assembling in the courtyard tomorrow morning. Then he stepped firmly into the chamber with his tray of food, his face devoid of any emotion and giving no sign that he had heard anything. Idly, he noticed that Morgana and Gwen were present in this meeting as well; it made sense though, they had been his "friends" too. As soon as he entered the room the knights ceased their conversation and Merlin felt the last little hope that perhaps he had misunderstood something die. He felt like a fool, how could a mere serving boy like him expect to be friends with the knights and prince who were so far above his station; if he was honest with himself he knew that this day would come, that a Prince could never be friends with a peasant boy no matter how much he deluded himself. Suddenly Merlin felt tears pricking at the back of his eyes and he quickly set the tray on the table and strode from the room, breaking into a run as he hit the corridor and not stopping until he was locked in his small room. He sat on his small bed, wondering how his life had fallen apart so quickly and how his mother would cope with the news that her son had been executed for sorcery. There, alone and afraid in the dark, Merlin began to cry.

Arthur and the knights had set to planning the surprise party instantly, enlisting the help of Gwen, Morgana, and Gaius. Arthur made no mention of the incident in the armory to Merlin, instead giving him the rest of the day off so he could begin planning the surprise with the knights. He chuckled to himself as he recalled the look of suspicion that crept across the youth's face when he had told him to have the rest of the day off. That same evening found the knights, Gwen, Gaius, Morgana, and Arthur gathered around the table in the prince's chambers. Once they had explained the day's events and their plans, Gaius and Morgana had agreed to help in anyway possible, a little ashamed that they hadn't thought to ask Merlin when his birthday was. Gwen also agreed to help, knowing that it was a rare occasion when Merlin gave up personal information; for being such a young and cheerful person he was notoriously tight-lipped about certain things, namely his personal life. She wasn't as surprised as the others that Merlin hadn't shared this information before, however; she knew how the boy disliked being the center of attention preferring instead to stand quietly back in the shadows.

They got to work; delegating tasks and items for different people to do and get. Once they had decided who would be bringing what to the party, where it would be held (they had decided it would be in Gaius' chambers), and when it would occur, they said their goodnights and began to head towards the door. Lancelot stopped them before they left.

"I think we're all forgetting something." At the questioning looks he received he sighed and continued. "When was the last time any of you successfully lied to Merlin?"

Gwaine looked thoughtful. "Lancelot's right. He may be little, but Merlin definitely has a way of getting people to admit things."

"And he can be relentless when he thinks people are lying to him or hiding something," Percy added, recalling the time when he had tried to hide his bruised ribs from the boy after a particularly ill-tempered horse had kicked him. Merlin had been merciless, dogging Percy's every step until he had cracked and allowed Merlin to fuss over the injury.

"Well, there's only one thing to do, since none of you can lie to save your soul." This was Gaius, who spoke with a knowing smile having caught all of them in their lies on many occasions. "You shall all have to stay away from him as much as possible. As you know he's a suspicious little boy and I can only explain away so much."

They all nodded in agreement and left the room, determined to keep this a secret from Merlin. Over the next few days they spent all their free time either collaborating with one another or gathering decorations and their gifts for the boy. Whenever they ran into Merlin they made polite conversation before making up some reason to excuse them from the conversation. Arthur lightened the boy's list of chores and Gwen avoided Merlin all together, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hide her excitement from the boy. None of them noticed the effect their actions were having on the boy, being too caught up in their preparations along with their normal duties. Gaius noticed that his ward had been a little withdrawn, but he had put it down to the fact that he was still pondering the events of the past few weeks. He felt a little guilty at the hurt look on the boy's face every time Gaius reminded him that they were all busy people, but in his defense they **were** all busy and there **was** an illness spreading across the lower town (never mind the fact that they were all busy with party business and that the illness was really just a common cold).

About a week later they all gathered in Arthur's chambers once more, to put the final touches on their grand scheme. Satisfied that they had everything they needed Arthur brought up the final challenge they faced: how to surprise Merlin. They all sat in silence, pondering the dilemma, until Gaius started to laugh.

"Here we have the finest strategists and knights in all of Camelot and they can't even figure out how to take a boy by surprise. "

Gwaine pulled a pout. "It's difficult, we can't let him know what we're planning. Besides it was hard enough just getting the boy a gift." The others smiled at that, knowing how much work Gwaine had put into his "gift" for Merlin.

"It's not as if we're trying to fight him; that'd be easy to plan. No this is a lot harder; Merlin may be suspicious already. Maybe if we could get everything set up while he's sleeping…Gaius, is there anyway you can ensure that he'll sleep late tomorrow?"

Gaius nodded and Arthur clapped his hands together tomorrow. "Right then, that's the plan men and it must be executed to perfection. Oh, and Gaius, make sure you don't have any candles burning…the clumsy idiot would probably fall over and set the place on fire."

The knights all laughed and began chattering, until Merlin strode through the doors carrying Arthur's meal. They all fell silent, wondering if the boy had heard them planning. But Merlin simply walked in the room with an empty expression, set the tray on the table, and then turned and walked right back out. The knight shared confused looks with one another; normally Merlin would have stayed and tried to talk with them, perhaps cracking a few jokes at Arthur's expense. They had never seen the young boy look so grim and they weren't sure what to make of it. Lancelot looked at Gaius questioningly. He knew about Merlin's magic and wondered if that had anything to do with it. Whatever it was he figured Gaius would know.

"What's up with Merlin, Gaius?

The old man had a perplexed look on his face. "I have no idea," he said, shaking his head, "but I should probably go find our." With that he left the room.

The others lingered for a little while longer, finalizing the time they would meet, before they too left the room, still slightly perturbed by Merlin.

When Gaius reached his chambers he found Merlin's door closed and from behind the wood he could hear the sound of muffled sobbing. Worried now, he knocked lightly before entering the small room. Merlin was there, curled up on his bed sobbing. Gaius sat down next to him and gathered him into his arms, rocking him gently.

"Merlin, what's the matter? What happened?"

Merlin didn't answer for a long time, unsure if he should alert Gaius to the fact he knew about their plans to kill him. Deciding that it wouldn't make any difference whether Gaius knew he knew or not he stayed silent. If Gaius knew Merlin was warned it would only make it harder for the old man to let them take him. Instead of answering Gaius he just burrowed closer to the man, sobbing into his robes. The healer knew that Merlin wasn't going to answer him, so he just held him for a while, rubbing his thin back with small, soothing circles. Eventually he left the boy's side, returning a few moments later with a sleeping draft, which he then coaxed the youth to drink. Within minutes his sobs had quieted and he had fallen into sleep.

Merlin lay in his bead, staring at the ceiling. He had woken sometime before dawn, panicking as he noted the darkness surrounding him and thinking he had been moved to the dungeons while he was sleeping. After a few moments of debilitating fear he had come to his senses, realizing that he could see the light of dawn beginning to creep through his window. When he had calmed enough to think rationally Merlin had started to contemplate how this day would proceed. Would Arthur be present at his execution? And the knights too? More than he feared death, Merlin feared seeing the looks of hurt and betrayal on their faces. His mind had come up with dozens of brutal scenarios for his execution, every one featuring Arthur, his face twisted with hurt and rage, dropping the torch onto the pyre and smiling while Merlin burned. Judging by the position of the sun he had lain there, lost in thought, for more than two hours, and outside his room he could hear the sound of people moving and talking in hushed voices. They were here for him.

Right then Merlin decided that, if he had to die, he would at least go with some sense of dignity. He rolled out of bed, dressing himself before looking in the mirror. There were dark smudges under his eyes, probably from the nightmares that had plagued him despite the sleeping draft, that stood in stark contrast from his pale skin. Squaring his shoulders he stepped out his room to find the Prince and knights of Camelot sitting around the table, talking and laughing with Gaius, Gwen, and Morgana. Merlin just stood there, staring, for a moment before Sir Elyan noticed him and nudged the others, gesturing towards him. They all fell silent and turned to look at the petrified serving boy. Arthur began to rise and Merlin's paralysis broke along with his nerve; he promptly turned back into his room and slammed the door. He was going to be sick; no, he wasn't, he was going to get himself under control, or at least, that's what Merlin told himself, leaning against the door. It just didn't make sense to him; he understood them all being there for the execution but throwing a party? Was he really that awful? Loosing the battle for control he promptly leant over and retched into the waste bucket.

For the second time in as many days the knights found themselves sharing confused looks because of Merlin. Both Gaius and Lancelot moved towards the door, Gaius, remembering his lack of success the previous night, indicated that Lancelot should go in and speak with the boy. Lancelot hesitated at the door, unsure of how to proceed, and slowly raised his hand to knock on the door. Before he could do so he heard the sound of someone retching. All thoughts of knocking discarded, he rushed into the room as Merlin finished retching. Wide blue eyes met concerned brown ones and Lancelot was astonished to see the fear and resignation present in the cobalt orbs. Slowly, as if Merlin were a spooked horse, Lancelot approached with his hands raised.

"Merlin, what's going on? Have you been injured? Are you sick?" He reached out and placed a hand on the youth's shoulder. Merlin jumped back when the knight touched him, and the knight frowned. "Merlin, I'm not going to hurt you." The boy let out a bark of disbelieving laughter that made Lancelot rock back on his heels. Surely Merlin knew that none of the knights would even consider harming a hair on his head? "Merlin, please, just tell me what's wrong," pleaded Lancelot, his concern evident in his voice.

Merlin searched the knight's face, noting the worry and concern etched there. Had he been mistaken? He refused to let himself hope, knowing it would just make it worse when he was wrong. "So you're not going to execute me for using magic?" At Lancelot's stunned shake of the head he continued: "Don't lie to me. I heard you and the others talking last night and I'm old enough to figure out what the words 'surprise, fight, burning' have to do with me."

"So let me get this straight, you heard those three words, along with your name, completely out of context and just assumed that we were going to execute you?" Lancelot's voice had taken on an indignant, slightly incredulous tone; he was caught between finding it absolutely hilarious and being angry that Merlin truly believed that his friends would kill him. "Why on earth would you think that? We're your friends… we would never hurt you like. We couldn't."

Merlin fixed Lancelot with a stare. "What was I supposed to assume, _Lancelot_? All of the sudden all of my friends start acting strangely, making excuses to get me out of their presence." Merlin's voice was steadily increasing in volume as he spoke; he was practically screaming. "Hell, I brushed it off with the knights, just tried to ignore it, but Gwen started avoiding me completely, Arthur couldn't stand to have me around; I mean he practically cut my chores in half, and all Gaius could say was that you all had more important things to do than talk with me! So you tell me, WHAT THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO THINK!" Seeing the stricken look on Lancelot's face he suddenly felt ashamed for his outburst. He was such a fool; he had taken everything and blown it way out of proportion. The look of total surprise Lancelot had worn while Merlin was yelling was enough proof for him that the knight hadn't been lying to him. Gods, he really was an idiot. Merlin dropped his head into his hands and muttered, "I'm sorry about losing my temper."

Lancelot turned and stared at the boy, certain that his mouth was hanging open. He had never even considered what their planning had looked like to the young manservant. Gods, he felt like smashing his head into the wall; they were such clotpoles (he'd picked that phrase up from Merlin). Their avoidance would have made a normal person paranoid; it must have been so much worse for Merlin, who was so young and kept such a dangerous secret. Merlin was the most powerful sorcerer of all time, completely capable of incapacitating a dozen knights with a wave of a hand and here he was apologizing for simply raising his voice. Lancelot and the others had put him through the worst kind of hell in the past week. He was completely in awe of boy in front of him; his compassion and kindness was without equal. Lancelot put an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Merlin, you have nothing to be sorry for. It is I who should be apologizing to you; I should have known what this would look like to you. I'm not sure it'll make up for the past week, but would you like to come out and see our excuse for our behavior?" Not waiting for a response he began pulling Merlin towards the door. He stopped before exiting, however, turning to face Merlin. "Wait a moment, if you thought Arthur was going to execute you, why didn't you just leave? With your, ehrm, talents it wouldn't have been difficult to leave the castle and remain undetected."

" What purpose would that serve? I cannot fulfill my destiny anywhere else and leaving would mean living the rest of my life hunted like an animal. Men would have gone to Ealdor, putting my mother at risk, and that would force my hand, practically ensuring that Arthur would never see the good in magic. No it would be better to die instead of dragging things out; hopefully someday Arthur would still unite Albion and allow magic to roam free once again."

Yet again Lancelot found himself staring at Merlin. For one so young he possessed more courage than the staunchest of knights and spoke with wisdom seldom seen. He was the bravest of them all and he deserved so much more than he received, even if he was too stubborn to see it. Figuring he had hesitated long enough, Lancelot ushered the boy through the door.

This time Merlin took in more of the details, noting the food on the table, flowers and other decorations hanging around the room, and the small bundles that were stacked on a nearby chair. He looked at Lancelot, confused. The knight just laughed and whispered, "Happy Birthday, Merlin."

Lancelot was certain he had never seen such a look of absolute happiness than the Merlin's face that day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Again thank you to all who have favorited and followed my story. Also, If you have any prompts or scenarios you want to see in this story put it in a review and I'll see what I can do with it. I promise to keep this chapter relatively light.**

Merlin add a few more logs to the fire in Arthur's chambers; lingering for a moment to try and coax some warmth back into his freezing body. It had been snowing for the past two days and Merlin still hadn't been able to play in it thanks to the ridiculous amount of chores Arthur had been giving him. Once he was sufficiently warmed, Merlin turned to face Arthur.

"Is there anything else you needed from me sire?"

Arthur glanced up from the reports he was reading and fixed Merlin with a look, noting as he did so the way the boy shifted from foot to foot and looked out the window. Smiling he said, "No, I think you're actually all done. Merlin…" This last part was in an exasperated tone as Merlin was halfway out the door, having sprinted for the exit as soon as the words left the prince's mouth.

"Yes, Arthur?"

"I won't allow you to go outside, however, until you put on something warmer. Good servants are hard to come by and I can have you dying of a chill or something."

The boy frowned at Arthur, an inscrutable expression on his face. "I'll be fine; besides, if I do die of a chill you can always have George replace me as your servant."

Arthur gave Merlin a mock horrified look. "Don't even joke about that, George as my servant, ugh." He shuddered. "The man makes jokes about brass, Merlin, brass." Arthur noticed that Merlin had been scooting towards the door while he spoke and sighed. He wasn't going to get away that easily; knowing Merlin's propensity for bad luck he probably would catch his death if he went out dressed as he was. He had on his normal ratty, blue tunic, red neck kerchief, and brown jacket and it wasn't anywhere near warm enough for this weather. "I'm serious, Merlin. If you so much as roll one snowball without putting on something warmer, I'll make sure George gives you lessons on serving for the next month."

Eyes wide, Merlin crossed his arms and pulled a pout. "But that's not fair! Either I get to play in the snow and then suffer through George for a month or I don't get to play in the snow."

Exasperated, Arthur shook his head. Why did Merlin have to be so damned stubborn about everything? "I'm not saying that you can't play in the snow. Just go put on something warmer before you do so."

"I don't have anything warmer, Arthur! It's not fair; everybody else gets to play in the snow and I'm stuck inside. What now?!" He said this as he noticed Arthur rising, a thoughtful look on his face. He walked over to his wardrobe and began digging; letting out a satisfied shout when he found what he was looking for. He held up an old pair of gloves that looked like they had seen some use. "Well, for starters you can put these on. They were my training gloves when I was younger," he told the boy as he tossed him the gloves. "Now, if I remember correctly, some of my old cloaks and boots are packed away in the old store rooms." He grabbed his cloak and walked to the door as he fastened it. "Well, are you going to come and get them with me or stand there gaping like a fish, Merlin?"

Merlin gave Arthur a suspicious look, but followed him anyway. "Why are you being so nice all of the sudden?"

Feigning a hurt look, Arthur said, "I'm always this nice, Merlin! Are you suggesting that I'm not?" Noticing the smirk on the younger boy's face he continued. "Or maybe you're trying to say that I'm being too nice; well if that's the case I can always find more chores for you to do, come to think of it Gaius did mention needing his leech tank cleaned…" Arthur smiled as Merlin spluttered indignantly, trying to form an argument that the prince wouldn't twist against him. When they reached the door that led out to the courtyard Arthur strode out, realizing only a few minutes later that Merlin wasn't following. Exasperated he turned to see the boy standing just inside the doors, a wary look on his face. "What now Merlin?"

"You just said that I couldn't go out in the snow without warmer things or you would saddle me with George. This was a mean trick, Arthur, but I'm not going to fall for it."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "If I recall correctly, I said you couldn't roll a snowball without warmer things on. Now if you want warmer things so you can roll snowballs, I suggest you follow me."

"Do you promise that it's not a trick?"

"Yes Merlin. I give you my word as a knight of Camelot that this is not a trick."

"Oh, ok then," the boy said as he came bounding back up to Arthur's side. They began to walk again, not noticing the group of men casting conspiratorial looks at the pair. Arthur was shaking his head again, smiling. Curious, Merlin asked him why he was smiling. Arthur only chuckled, shaking his one more time.

"I swear, for someone so open and honest, you sure are a suspicious little bloke. I don't get it; you're so honest and you can't tell a lie to save your life and yet you automatically expect everybody else to be lying to you."

Now it was Merlin who was smiling; if Arthur only knew how good of a liar he really was. He opened his mouth to reply, but instead he let out a yelp as something wet and very cold smashed into the back of his head.

"Merlin? What was that for..Aghhh!" Arthur had the misfortune of receiving his snowball in the face as he was turning to see what was wrong with Merlin. He quickly scanned the area, his training as a warrior kicking in. There, in the far corner, stood Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, and Lancelot and each wore suspiciously innocent expressions.

"Merlin, remember how I said you couldn't roll any snowballs? Yeah, well, I lied. Start rolling them; we're under attack."

Both of them, Prince and servant, bent and began rolling snowballs. They were careful to keep their backs to the knights, making it appear like Merlin had fallen and Arthur was helping him up. When they felt they had sufficient amo, the duo turned to look at the knights. Gwaine wore a vaguely concerned look, obviously he feared that his snowball had hurt the small boy, or some such thing. His expression quickly turned to one of shock and determination as Merlin hit him in the face with a snowball. This meant war.

In a matter of minutes the peaceful courtyard had become a warzone; all of the bystanders had cleared out and Leon had even joined the fight; choosing to side with the prince and Merlin. Secretly Arthur and Leon were impressed, noting the speed and accuracy with which Merlin hurled snowballs; each and every one hit a knight. Neither one of them had seen the brief flash of gold in his eyes as he began throwing. Also noting his accuracy, Gwaine, Percy, Elyan, and Lancelot began to focus on the boy, completely ignoring Arthur and Leon. That was their mistake. Leaving Merlin to fend for himself, the two knights snuck up behind the others. They were both holding two enormous snowballs, which they promptly smashed over the other knights' heads.

Spluttering and laughing, Merlin walked over to join Arthur and Leon. Once again all three held snowballs and they surrounded the others. Merlin grinned cheekily. "Do you surrender?"

"Never! We are knights of Camelot…We'll not accept defeat at the hands of a boy and his princess!"

Merlin raised his snowball threatening, giving a positively evil grin. "You sure?" He said this in such a tone that Arthur had to make sure that it was still actually Merlin standing there. Gwaine gulped and then began to nod, but Lancelot cuffed him good-naturedly on the back of his head.

"Shut up, Gwaine. I surrender." He raised his hands in the air towards Merlin, grinning. "Blimey mate, remind me not to get on your bad side. You're kind of scary and your aim is better than the princess'—erm, Arthur's is!"

Merlin grinned happily. "G-g-good," he stuttered, unable to keep his teeth from chattering.

Arthur felt chagrinned; he had completely forgotten Merlin's state of dress in the moment and he realized now that they had been out here for a good half hour at least. Looking at the others' faces he realized he wasn't the only one feeling slightly bad for the boy. Well, he decided giving a mental shrug, there was only one thing to do now. "Right you lot, you're now our prisoners. Now march, we're taking you to our torture rooms." He winked at the knights, who suspecting what he was up to, played along, grumbling and groaning until they reached the "torture room". Gwaine specifically really got into his role, at one point falling to his knees and clasping Leon's legs "begging" to be spared from the torture room, as he was far too handsome for such a thing. The others just laughed and Leon had gotten Gwaine back up walking; telling him that there was something special waiting for him and his "handsome" face. Merlin was wondering what was going to happen next and so he followed in the rear, laughing at the antics of the "captured" knights. The "torture room" was Arthur's chamber, Merlin realized as the group walked along the corridors.

When they arrived at the prince's chambers they found the fire roaring and seven mugs sitting on the table next to a steaming pot of hot chocolate and a platter of cookies. The knights all sat at the table and began to distribute the hot chocolate and cookies. Merlin had moved to stand in his normal position behind Arthur's chair while they did this. Once all the mugs had been filled and cookies distributed the knights noticed the empty chair at the table and looked around, wondering why Merlin wasn't sitting with them.

Merlin sudden found six pairs of eyes resting on him and he shifted uncomfortably, his hands rubbing up and down his arms as he tried to coax some warmth back into the limbs. "What?"

"Why are you standing back there?" This was Percy who had spoken, genuinely confused as to why the boy hadn't joined them. "Aren't you cold?"

Merlin was now equally as confused. "What do you mean 'why am I back here' this is where I always stand. And of course I'm cold, I just spent half an hour schooling a bunch of knights in a snowball fight." He said this last part with an eye roll and a grin.

Both Lancelot and Arthur looked a little indignant about that statement. Lancelot crossed his arms.

" You didn't _school _us, Merlin"

Raising his eyebrow as Gaius did, Merlin stopped rubbing his arms and crossed them instead. "Then what would you, Sir Knight, call an eleven year old boy beating four seasoned knights in a snowball fight?"

Gwaine chuckled and Lancelot gave him an incredulous look. "What are you laughing about, he beat you too."

"I know he did, but I'm not too proud to admit that he actually schooled us. I mean look at him, No offense Merlin, but he's a scrawny little git and he never missed us, not once. Along those same lines, we only hit him a few times and were supposed to be trained for combat. If you think about it, it's really quite amusing."

Now Arthur spoke up. "He did have a little help you know," he said, crossing his arms.

Merlin cocked his head to the side, apparently deep in thought. He nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose you did, Sire. How many snowballs did you and Sir Leon throw?"

"Well, I'm not sure about Arthur, but I know you threw nearly twice as many as I did and got hit half as many times."

"Thank you, Leon. How many did you throw, Arthur?"

"Alright, so you did most of the snowball fighting. It was rather impressive, I have to say; given your general lack of coordination I'm surprised that you hit anything. Why didn't you ever tell us you could throw like that?"

"I have many talents, Arthur. And honestly, I spend more of my time ducking objects than throwing them, if you know what I mean."

Percival cleared his throat. "Back to the original point I was making; why are you standing back there and not drinking your hot chocolate? There's a glass for you right here?"

Merlin looked a little confused, then shrugged his shoulders and took a seat. " I didn't realize I was invited to join you guys."

"Why did you think I had seven cups sent up," asked Arthur?

"I just thought somebody couldn't count."

"Not all my servants are as inept as you, Merlin."

"Well…"

"Merlin?"

"Yes, Arthur?" "Shut up and drink your hot chocolate."

**Sorry If the ending is kind of lame, I wasn't sure how to end it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**As requested by littlebookdemon this chapter is Christmas themed! Thanks for the reviews and suggestions! I'm sorry if this chapter is a little cliché but it's the only direction I could think to take it in. It's kind of long, so sorry if it seems to ramble…**

It was only week after their epic snowball fight that Arthur and the knights noticed something odd about Merlin, again. Yule was just around the corner and that meant feasting, presents, and overall good cheer. As the holiday approached the castle occupants had been getting more and more excited, caught up in the holiday cheer. Gwaine was the first to notice something was amiss with their friend.

"Have you guys noticed that Merlin's been acting a little strange lately; stranger than usual?" They were in the armory after one of their training sessions and Merlin had just left on an errand for Arthur.

The other knights nodded in reply to his question, but Elyan asked, "What do you mean by 'acting strange'?"

"Well, everybody is getting super hyped up about Yule, especially the youngsters. Hell, by this time I was uncontrollable as a child, so excited for Yule that I couldn't stay still.

"So? Merlin, he's been bouncing around like the rest of them," pointed out Arthur.

"Yes, but have you noticed him when anyone mentions gifts or the yuletide feast? He goes all silent and brooding, like presents and feasts are bad things."

Leon was stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, he was with Lancelot and me the other day in the market place. He had been bouncing around, talking nonstop about all the decorations and pointing out the ones that he had helped various people hang. When we actually reached the market to get gifts, he was suddenly very…somber."

"I've never seen him buy anything during Yule, not even candy. Why do you think that is?" Gwaine wondered aloud.

Elyan clapped his hands together, startling the other men from their thoughts. "Well, I guess we'll just have to go ask him, won't we?" And he strode out of the room, heading off to find Merlin. The others shrugged, each silently wondering what was going to happen this time (none of their other "interventions" seemed to work out as intended with Merlin) and followed Elyan out. They finally found him half an hour later, helping Gwen and some other servants to decorate the great hall for the upcoming feast.

"Merlin?"

"Yes Arthur," the boy replied, ignoring the scandalized look George gave him for addressing the prince by his first name. Just because George had been lecturing him for the past hour on the proper way to bedeck a hall and polish candlesticks, he added, "Is there something I can do for your royal pratness?"

"Actually, I require a word with you, Merlin," replied Arthur, struggling to contain his smile. George looked like he was ready to pass out from the horror of Merlin's servitude. As the group walked to a corner of the hall away from the main group, Leon lost control of his laughter and burst out in a hearty chuckle.

"Good heavens Merlin! Did you see the look on his face after your comment? I thought he was going to brain you over the head with his candlestick and or throw up."

"Perhaps I should have waited to see," stated Arthur mischievously; "George might have saved us all from Merlin's ineptitude as a servant."

"Careful, Arthur, that was a big word; we wouldn't want you to hurt that little brain of yours." Merlin must have said this a little too loudly, because there was a clattering of silver from down the hall; they all looked to see several servants helping to revive George from his faint. Merlin grinned. "Anyway, serves him right. I've spent the last hour being lectured on how to decorate and polish, for absolutely no reason at all."

Arthur 'hmmm'd in mock thoughtfulness, tapping his chin. "Perhaps we'll see if you learned anything from the lesson when you polish my armor later. Back to the matter at hand…" The prince's voice trailed off; he wasn't quite sure how to go about this subject without being insensitive or rude. Thankfully Gwaine had no such qualms.

"Why don't you like Yule?"

"What? I love Yule; it's one of my favorite holidays." Merlin looked genuinely confused at Gwaine's question.

"Every time somebody brings up presents or feasting you cringe and then practically run away!"

Merlin was beginning to be petulant. He didn't see why it was any of their business, anyway. "I do not! I like Yule just fine!"

Almost as one all the knights crossed their arms. They had seen the look of nervous apprehension that flashed across his face at the mention of presents. "Merlin," Arthur said in a tone that brooked no argument, "You really are a horrible liar; just tell us why."

Merlin sighed and crossed his arms unhappily. "You aren't going to let me go without telling are you?" All of the knights shook their heads. "Fine. I didn't realize I cringed; I just don't like hearing about presents people are getting or feasts because…iveneverbeentoafeastorgottenapresentbefore ." He said this last part so quickly and quietly that the knights didn't catch it. They all leaned in closer.

"What was that, Merlin? We didn't catch the last part," prompted Lancelot when it became apparent that the boy had said all he was going to say.

The servant took a long, deep breath and said, staring intently at the floor, "I don't like hearing about them because I only ever serve at the royal's Yule feast, I've never been to one of my own; and I've never gotten presents at Yule."

To say the men were shocked would be an understatement. How could he have never received a present for Yule or attended a feast? Leon found his voice first. "How? I mean surely somewhere along the line you've gotten a Yule gift or went to a feast?" Merlin shook his head. "Not even back home, with your mother?"

"No. We never had enough money or food to waste it on presents or a feast. We usually just joined in the village festivities and then went home and to sleep. And Gaius doesn't celebrate Yule, so it's really just another day for me. Last year Cook did save me some scraps from the feast, so it was kind of a feast, except I was all alone." The boy shrugged and looked up, trying to gauge his friends' reactions. When they continued to stay staring into space and silent, Merlin slipped between two of them and left the hall.

Gathering his wits, Arthur sent all the knights up to his chambers; before he followed them he stopped and grabbed Gwen, thinking that she would know how to help. On the way up, Arthur filled Gwen in on what had transpired and by the time they reached their destination not only were their tears shinning in her eyes, but Gwen was determined to right that which she felt was an egregious wrong. Once they discussed what they were going to do. The conspirators were ensconced in Arthur's chambers for nearly an hour and a half, during which time they decided that, since the king was still ill, they would have a smaller, more informal Yule feast this year; one that would include Merlin. It went without saying that they would all be getting the boy a gift and that this would remain a secret. Lancelot just hoped that it would turn out better than their last attempt at a surprise did. Satisfied that all was in order, the knights rushed out to find their gifts.

Merlin was relieved, to say the least. When the knights had mentioned presents, he had nearly panicked; he thought that they had discovered his surprise before it was ready. He wasn't pleased that he had to divulge personal information, but as long as his surprise remained as such he could deal with it. He had been planning this for a long time, ever since his birthday, in fact. It had started out as just a way to repay the knights and Arthur for his birthday gifts, but it soon morphed into a grand project that he honestly enjoyed doing. For every one of his friends he had a gift and surprise for.

The first gift was a cloak pin he had made for each knight in the shape of the Pendragon crest. Merlin had pulled out his long- unused metal working skills (and a spell or two) to shape the pins and then, though none but Lancelot would know, he placed an enchantment upon them that would protect the wearer from the most dangerous of magical attacks. Unfortunately for them the spell only worked on major attack such as possession and fireballs, it wouldn't prevent them from being thrown back into some wall or tree. After the pins, he had branched out, finding something different for each knight.

For Gwaine it had been easy; Merlin had gathered up his money and made an arrangement with the local tavern. He had agreed to pay a small sum and help out with any illnesses and injuries that occurred throughout the year for the tavern owner's family; if he did that and helped to repair any damages the drunk caused, Gwaine could drink for free at the tavern for a year. Merlin couldn't wait to see the knight's reaction when the tavern keeper refused his money and told him the news.

For Leon it had been a little more difficult; it took months of covert wheedling for Merlin to discover what Leon liked. He had convinced cook to help him make the delicious confection Leon called marshmallows; Cook ended up making up a second batch just for her and Merlin after they tasted the heavenly confection. He had also repaired and "enhanced" Leon's favorite saddle that had been damaged in a bandit attack. By "enhanced" he meant that he had added spells that would make it more comfortable for both the rider and the horse.

Percival, as everyone knew, had a dislike for sleeves of any kind, so that made Merlin's job just a little bit easier. The boy knew that the dislike stemmed from the fact that sleeves never quite fit Percy's arms and they restricted his movement. He managed to spell several tunics to fit the large man without a problem and also allow him a full range of motion without ripping. It took some doing, but he also managed to find a discarded mail shirt, which he promptly fixed and added the same enchantments to it as he did the tunics. That meant that Percy would be able to move unrestricted without sacrificing on protection.

Merlin knew that Elyan was fond of riddles, so, with a little help from Geoffrey, he found a book entirely of riddles and mind games that he knew would keep the man occupied for hours. Merlin also decided to replace Elyan's throwing knives with a pair magicked to have perfect balance and to fly straight and true.

As he was the only one other than Gaius that knew about Merlin's secret, Lancelot's gifts were, in a word, magical. One was a small carved wooden Griffin that Merlin had made himself. He had taken up the hobby of wood carving after meeting his father and this was one of his finest sculptures yet. The Griffin was enchanted so that should Lancelot ever need Merlin all he need do was hold the carving, calling Merlin's name mentally, and Merlin would hear. To one of his truest friends Merlin also gave a sword covered in rune visible to those who used magic only. The words praised Lancelot's honor and bravery, extolling his virtues along with a warning that he was protected by and a true friend of Emrys. The magic of these runes was such that none but Lancelot (and Merlin, of course) could wield the blade, nor would it ever tarnish or require sharpening.

For Arthur, Merlin convinced Kilgarah to breathe upon a dagger that, when the time came for Arthur to wield it, would complement and be as kin to Excalibur. In the meantime the blade would through anything and kill any type of magical beast. Merlin had also gotten him a new pair of boots that he enchanted to never leak, crack, or wear down; he had grown tired or repairing and polishing Arthur's current boots every time he wore them.

Gwen was also included in this scheme of Merlin's and her gift was spectacular, in his opinion. First he had used magic to sculpt a beautiful glass model of her favorite type of flower; then he had found a beautiful and ancient music box. He had polished the music and then used magic to embellish the box and attach the flower to the lid; he also laid an enchantment on the box so that each time the music played it would bring feelings of peace to those who heard it.

Overall Merlin was pleased with the gifts he had made and the subtlety of the enchantments he had placed on them; the magical resonance they gave off would be nearly undetectable to any but those familiar with the magic of Emrys. He was glad that he had a chance to repay his friends and perhaps lighten their moods after recent events. This was what the holiday was all about to him, the festivity and joy, and the ability to bring joy to those he cared for. He also liked the fact that his plan made it possible for all the gifts to be delivered anonymously, so they would never know they were from him, except Lancelot, and Merlin would get to watch them puzzle over who had given the gifts. He couldn't wait until Yule!

Merlin slept late on Yule morning as he didn't have to tend to Arthur until later in the day. The previous night he had used multiple spells to allow himself to slip quietly into his friend's chambers, leave their gifts, and escape unnoticed. Despite the aid of his magic, the task had taken a long time and Merlin hadn't finished until the wee hours of the morning. He took his time getting up and ready for the day, reveling in the fact that he didn't have anything to do until late that afternoon. After he had cleaned up and tidied up his and Gaius' small living space, he took a stroll through the town, admiring the decorations and laughing at the delighted squeals of children as they celebrated with friends and family. He sighed at the lateness of the hour and returned to the castle, heading up to Arthur's chambers when he got there.

He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting when he got there; what with Uther's illness and Morgana's treachery there wasn't going to be a large Yule feast. Merlin thought he'd find Arthur with Agravaine when he arrived, of course, but he certainly didn't expect to find the prince's chamber's full of people with a feast laid out on the table. When he walked in the occupants of the room turned to stare at him, and then they all shouted in unison "Merlin!" The occupants, who were of course the knights, stepped forward along with Arthur and Gwen and greeted the slightly confused boy. Gwen ushered Merlin to a seat and everybody else sat down as well. Merlin seemed to breakthrough his confusion at that point.

"What's this?"

"You're such an idiot, Merlin," the prince said and then yelped as Gwen kicked his shin. "What was that for?" Gwen gave him a look and Arthur gulped and added, "We decided that you were going to celebrate Yule this year, and we figured who better to celebrate with then us? Anyway, let's eat! I'm starving!"

Merlin, secretly touched that his friends cared enough to do something like this, let a small smirk spread across his lips at Arthur's statement. He sighed in mock exasperation. At everybody's questioning looks he simply said, "I don't think I can fit anymore holes in your belt, Arthur." All the knights laughed while Arthur scowled and swatted Merlin over the head gently. The rest of the meal was filled with ligh -hearted banter and several unbelievable anecdotes courtesy of Gwaine.

When they were all finished Arthur stood and summoned a servant to clear away the food. He walked to his drawers and with drew something and then returned to the table, setting a small parcel in front of Merlin. The knights all took this as a cue and placed their own parcels before the boy. He just looked at them incredulously.

"You didn't really…did you?" At their nods of assent, his eyes went wide and he looked at Arthur. "Can I open them?"

Arthur just rolled his eyes. "No we thought you'd like to keep them wrapped up and not know what's inside. Of course you can open them you dollophead."

"Hey, that's my word!"

"I know, and it suits you well. Now open your gifts already."

Merlin set to opening the gifts with gusto; thanking each gift-giver several times over before he was ushered into opening the next gift. By the time he was done he had acquired a new cloak and gloves from Arthur, several new neck-kerchiefs from Gwen, a pair of sturdy boots with a sheath and knife hidden in them from Leon, and a new set of camping gear from Gwaine for when they went on patrols. Elyan and Percival hastily explained to Merlin as he opened their gifts that they had accidentally gotten him the same thing. Their apologies turned to laughter when Merlin practically began bouncing off the walls, his eyes wide, after looking at their gifts. Both of the knights had decided that Merlin could use a little extra padding on his bones, so they had gotten him a large assortment of the sweets and delicacies that appeared at the market this time of the year. Before he opened his gift from Lancelot he insisted on popping several sweets into his mouth and then passing them around the table so everyone could have some. When he did open up Lancelot's gift his jaw dropped. He could feel the waves of powerful magic rolling off what appeared to be a simple charm, and he gave Lancelot a questioning look.

Lancelot hurried to explain. "It's a charm from the eastern lands that supposedly brings good luck; I figured with the amount of time you spend falling over nothing you could use some luck."

It was obvious to Merlin that the man was lying, but he caught Lancelot's look that indicated he would explain it later, so he dropped the matter. He grinned suddenly, remembering the part of his gift that he had kept to give to the knights as their "official" gifts.

"Will you all wait right here for a second? I've got to go get something…"

The others just exchanged exasperated looks as the boy sprinted out of Arthur's chambers, reappearing only a moment later with a large wrapped parcel and one smaller one. The smaller one he handed to Gwen and the other he opened himself, taking out six small bundles and handing them to each of the knights.

"I made these for you as your gifts," he stated proudly. Merlin couldn't help grinning as they opened the bundles to reveal the cloak pins that he had made. All the knights looked shocked for a moment and then burst into speech, firing dozens of questions at him at once. It was Gwen who finally stopped the outbursts of the knights by running up and flinging her arms around Merlin's thin frame.

"Oh thank you so much, Merlin," she said, holding out her wrist to display a beautiful, yet simply, bracelet etched with an intricate design. "Did you make this as well?" When Merlin nodded, she continued, "It's absolutely beautiful. I didn't know you knew how to do this. And," she added," It's nearly the same design as the other gift that I received today, though I don't know who that was from."

Arthur gave Gwen a curious look. "You received an anonymous gift too? Was it just, in your room?" Gwen nodded, curious as to where this was going. "I received a gift as well. It was just sitting in my room this morning, completely unmarked." Turning to his knights he asked, "Did any of you receive gifts like that?"

The knights all nodded, launching into a lengthy discussion on what they had found in their rooms. Merlin just sat their, feigning interest and smiling. He caught Lancelot staring at him, as if to ask if he had any ideas about this mysterious gift giver; Merlin just winked at the man drawing an exasperated eye roll from the knight. The young warlock leant back in his chair contentedly, a large grin on his face. It had been a good Yule.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok up until this chapter all the other chapters were copied from the original story and author so from here on out the chapters will be what I write, I also found out from the previous Author that there had been request for this to become a reveal fic so I might get into that in later chapters**

**so enjoy XD**

**-Wolfy**

**~oo0O0oo~**

Yule passed and the weather slowly grew colder and harsher. Winter was never a kind season for Camelot but this year was especially harsh and everyone was feeling it. The servants had it especially hard because unlike the knights they still had a lot of work to do. Arthur didn't train his knights as much for worry that they would fall ill from a bad chill.

Of course when Uther had received notice that soldiers from Cenred's kingdom had been spotted rounding Camelot's boarders, despite the cold weather and Arthur's arguments that it was too dangerous, he sent out Arthur and his most trusted knights to patrol the boarders.

**~oo0O0oo~**

Merlin whimpered as he came awake. His body hurt, it ached all over and his head felt like it could implode if he moved too quickly. it was hard to gather the strength to pull himself out of bed but some how he managed to do it just in time to hear Gaius bang on the closed door of his room.

"You need to get up Merlin, the prince had requested you," Merlin let out a low groan not really feeling up to getting up yet.

"Why cant the prat dress himself?" He cried dropping his face back into the pillow. He heard Gaius chuckle through the door as he stepped away. Merlin ignored the pain in his head and threw on his clothes haphazardly, ruffling his already messed up hair.

Gaius was at his workbench, packing away a bunch of vials and herbs that only a few Merlin could recognize. His muddled mind worked slowly to ponder what Gaius was preparing for before the memory of the previous day struck him.

A dangerous string of the flu virus broke out in lower town only a week ago, it was only recently that when many of the knights and their families had fallen ill even with the efforts of the many physician living in the area did Uther feel he had no choice but to send Gaius.

Merlin bit his lip in worry, he didn't want to be all alone and he could already tell he was coming down with something himself, but he knew that even if he did get sick and no matter how much he wanted Gaius to stay, the skilled physician would still be forced to go. SO he decided that staying quiet about how badly he was feeling to stop Gaius from feeling guilty for leaving him.

Merlin turned away from staring at the old man's back to the table where stew awaited him. He wasn't feeling particularly hungry he tucked in and ate about half of the stew before his stomach started protest and he had to stop.

He quickly stood and rushed out the chambers with only a quick goodbye to Gaius, he didn't want the physician to see him, he knew that as soon as the old man laid eyes on him Gaius would know he was sick.

**~oo0O0oo~**

Gaius raised an eyebrow at the retreating boy, a foreboding feeling filling the pit of his stomach. He should send a letter to the prince to keep an eye on the young warlock, he would tell him in person but he really needed to go. so with that thought to himself Gaius headed out to fulfill his duty as the physician of Camelot.

**~oo0O0oo~**

Merlin weaved his way though the servants and kitchen staff as he gathered a tray full of food for Arthur. Merlin had to fight the urge to vomit as the smell of food twisted his gut and made him dizzy. He let out a soft, almost inaudible whimper as the head cook knocked him up side he head when he banged into her causing her to drop a few freshly made bread rolls. He whimpered again when his head throbbed again.

The young boy let out a sigh of relief when he finally got to the prince's room and closed the door. Arthur was sitting at his breakfast table waiting impatiently. When he saw Merlin he let out an annoyed huff at his timing.

"You're late again MERlin, what reason do you have this time?" Arthur asked raising an eyebrow in question. A shiver ran up Merlin's spine at the annoyed tone in his master's voice, he really wasn't feeling well enough for the stocks, he was sure that if he were to be locked out in the stocks in this cold weather he would die, no question about it.

"Sorry prat, there are a lot of people in the kitchens this morning, it was hard to get all your food," he told truthfully. He didn't want to mention how he was always berated by the head cook and was made to gather his food last because she didn't like him. He especially never told him how often he got hit by the head cook like this morning. Arthur probably wouldn't even care.

Arthur eyed Merlin, he was never a morning person and had a bad habit of taking out his annoyance on poor Merlin, he always felt bad about it, but he couldn't help it, the kid could really annoy him and he was constantly stressed because of his duty as a prince.

Arthur let out a tired sigh and motioned for Merlin to continue his job. Merlin let the relief wash over him for a second, he really couldn't deal with an angry Arthur right now, not when his head was pounding and he couldn't stop shaking.

Merlin quickly laid out Arthur's food on the table before he went about tidying the bed with shaky hands. Arthur tucked in for his late breakfast, but one look at the food in front of him sent his anger and annoyance boiling.

"What the hell is this Merlin!" he growled. Merlin flinched at the stern tone and turned to see what he was talking about. he started at the sight of the food on the table, not even realizing that all the food were Arthur's least favorite. When Merlin started his training as Arthur's servant Arthur practically beat it into his head what foods were forbidden to reach his tray. "You are the worst excuse of a half-assed servant that ever worked in Camelot. What is wrong with you? Is it your mental defect, because I remember that was just made up, now I'm starting to doubt it all together. I told you that I never want to see this trash on my tray, and what do you do? you put it on my tray, you are the definition of 'idiot'."

Arthur's voice raised higher and higher in volume with each word till he was belting out and shouting. Merlin's head pounded and Arthur's loud voice scared him, he usually could take Arthur's yelling like nothing because he knew he didn't mean the things he said in anger, but with as sick as he was, he felt vulnerable. He remembered back to the time when he was younger and the men in his village would scream at him to the point that he was sure they would hurt him.

Merlin, feeling sick, weak and miserable and slightly confused, did what most children do when being yelled at by someone older, he began to cry.

Arthur stopped yelling at the sound of quiet sobbing. He looked down in shock at the boy in front of him who was shaking, his body jerking with sobs, his head bowed over and his fist balled and rubbing at his eyes. Arthur's voice caught in his throat as he stared in horror at the sight before him.

Merlin, his snarky, clever, annoying, fun loving, servant who he saw as a little brother was crying, he was crying because of he yelled at him, for something as stupid as a stupid breakfast. His previous anger forgotten, Arthur rushed forward and pulled a crying Merlin into his arms.

The young warlock leaned into the touch, even as upset as he was at Arthur's yelling he still knew the young prince didn't mean what he said. Arthur felt Merlin grip his shirt as his sobs slowly degraded to whimpers and hiccups.

"I don't feel good," Merlin murmured into Arthur's chest. It was then that Arthur's attention was drawn to the heat radiating off the boy. He gave a soft gasp of surprise when Merlin's knees buckled, Arthur held tight to the young warlock and lowered them to the ground.

"You're burning up Mer," Arthur whispered worriedly, using the pet nickname the knights made up for him. He turned the boy in his arms so that he was cradled like a baby and carefully lifted the boy and swept towards the bed. He lowered Merlin into the soft covers, Merlin's teary, cobalt blue eyes looked up at him tiredly.

"Merlin I'm sorry I'm such a clotpoll, can you forgive me?" Arthur asked as he brushed back the dark locks from Merlin's brow. Merlin gave him a teary smile and closed his eyes whispering "My word," causing Arthur to smile in return

Arthur got a basin of cool water and ringed out a clean rag and placed it on the boy's burning forehead. He then pulled the covers around the boy and tucked him in, not caring that it was his bed and that it was inappropriate for a servant to lay in it, only that Merlin was sick and cold.

He fed Merlin some water, and did the most unexpected thing. He crawled on top of the covers and pulled Merlin into his side. Merlin looked up at him in sleepy curiosity, the pain in his head and body easing.

"Arthur?" Merlin's voice was soft. Arthur looked down at the boy, still feeling bad about yelling at him. This was one of his free days, it was no reason to get mad at Merlin when there wasn't any meeting to get to and he still yelled at him, he really was a dollophead.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you," Arthur soothed as he ran his hand through Merlin's dark locks, easing him into sleep. The prince settled down as well, his arm laying over the boy curled into his side as he rested onto his dark head. They would sleep in this morning.

He need to be more careful, the way Merlin acted sometimes made him forget, but Merlin was only a kid, a child, he had to look after him and treat him well.

It's what big brothers were supposed to do right?

**~oo0O0oo~ **

**Ok I know this wasn't the best but I wanted to get this chapter out so my readers wouldn't thing I abandoned this story.  
I will be going into Merlin's life in his old village in later chapters with the rest of the Knights in it**

**Please REVIEW! It keeps me going**

**-Wolfy**


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